Hi folks,
First time grow log, let me start with some details about the location:
I live in Wageningen, a place well known by many of you, not by name, but because it is where the CGN genebank of the Netherands is located.
I'm a low budget grower, renting a community garden of 200m2, of which little over half is used for peppers. The location has a mixed sandy/loamy soil and drains (too) well since it is located slightly uphill. Since the gardens are located in a protected landscape, we are not allowed to put massive greenhouses there, something that has been kind of a hindrance to me. Ripening peppers in the open field can be very difficult if the late season is too wet. From october onward freezing can kill of whatever remains in the field and greenhouse.
I have two small greenhouses in which I can cramp about 50 plants in total, the open field contains about 300 plants in total.
This season I am growing many varieties. A few superhots like Trinidad Moruga scorpion, red bhut and caramel bhut. But mainly normal heat level baccatums, chinenses and annuums. I think the number of varieties totals about 60. Apart from that I have my own crosses and lines which have been under development since 2010. I started with only a few crosses in hot and bell peppers, but this quickly expanded over generations.
My 2010 generation bell peppers are now nearly stabilized (F6), I am planning to produce some test-crosses for hybrid development this year. With the hot peppers I often mix more than two parents over the generations, so these lines are not yet stable.
This year started well, with good germination rates and fast development of the seedlings (sown end of february). About 1400 seedlings were produced, of which about 650 were transplanted into smaller pots (march-april). This is when things started going wrong. Since this season I produced almost triple the plants that I did before, I decided to get some cheap potting soil, which turned out to be nearly disastrous. Growth was retarded (so was I) and yellowing occurred.
I also killed of small part of my plants by hardening them off too harshly (again due to the large numbers). During transplantation into the field (which took a while) aphids started to attack (not in large numbers, but a few in almost every plant). Normally natural predators take care of it quite quickly, but this season was quite cold, and the predators started late. Last year I sprayed, and next year I might do that again, because leaf damage was quite severe.
The cold spring and all other disadvantages that the plants endured, made them start slowly. However, now, early july, the plants are starting to flower and set fruit, and they seem to have recovered reasonably well.
I will now try to embed some pictures.
First time grow log, let me start with some details about the location:
I live in Wageningen, a place well known by many of you, not by name, but because it is where the CGN genebank of the Netherands is located.
I'm a low budget grower, renting a community garden of 200m2, of which little over half is used for peppers. The location has a mixed sandy/loamy soil and drains (too) well since it is located slightly uphill. Since the gardens are located in a protected landscape, we are not allowed to put massive greenhouses there, something that has been kind of a hindrance to me. Ripening peppers in the open field can be very difficult if the late season is too wet. From october onward freezing can kill of whatever remains in the field and greenhouse.
I have two small greenhouses in which I can cramp about 50 plants in total, the open field contains about 300 plants in total.
This season I am growing many varieties. A few superhots like Trinidad Moruga scorpion, red bhut and caramel bhut. But mainly normal heat level baccatums, chinenses and annuums. I think the number of varieties totals about 60. Apart from that I have my own crosses and lines which have been under development since 2010. I started with only a few crosses in hot and bell peppers, but this quickly expanded over generations.
My 2010 generation bell peppers are now nearly stabilized (F6), I am planning to produce some test-crosses for hybrid development this year. With the hot peppers I often mix more than two parents over the generations, so these lines are not yet stable.
This year started well, with good germination rates and fast development of the seedlings (sown end of february). About 1400 seedlings were produced, of which about 650 were transplanted into smaller pots (march-april). This is when things started going wrong. Since this season I produced almost triple the plants that I did before, I decided to get some cheap potting soil, which turned out to be nearly disastrous. Growth was retarded (so was I) and yellowing occurred.
I also killed of small part of my plants by hardening them off too harshly (again due to the large numbers). During transplantation into the field (which took a while) aphids started to attack (not in large numbers, but a few in almost every plant). Normally natural predators take care of it quite quickly, but this season was quite cold, and the predators started late. Last year I sprayed, and next year I might do that again, because leaf damage was quite severe.
The cold spring and all other disadvantages that the plants endured, made them start slowly. However, now, early july, the plants are starting to flower and set fruit, and they seem to have recovered reasonably well.
I will now try to embed some pictures.
. It's heat level should be around jalapeno level.
